Abnormalities of hair zinc concentration in mothers of newborn infants with spina bifida

Abstract

Hair zinc concentration was measured in centimeter sections of hair strands obtained from 17 mothers after delivery of newborn infants with spina bifida cystica. Thirty unselected healthy mothers and their normal newborn infants served as the controls. In the mothers of the diagnosis group, mean hair zinc concentration (216.2 microgram/g; SD = 43.2) was significntly higher than in the controls (181.6 microgram/g; SD = 31.4); it increased during pregnancy, whereas it decreased in the controls during the same time, and it was positively correlated to the hair zinc concentration of the newborn infants, while no such correlation could be detected in the controls. In the diagnosis group, mean birth weight (2808 g; SD = 382) and length (48.5 cm; SD = 2.3) of the term infants were significantly lower than in the control group (3310 g; SD = 382, and 51.2 cm; SD = 1.9, respectively). It is speculated that the differences in the zinc and growth parameters between the diagnosis and control group indicate an abnormality of zinc availability or metabolism in the mothers of infants with spina bifida.

Association between plasma zinc concentration and zinc kinetic parameters in premenopausal women

“…In this study, the hypozincemic women had higher hair Zn concentrations than the normozincemic women. Several researchers reported that, in adults, hair Zn was increased by Zn deprivation (6,39,42). In contrast, children with low-Zn status had depressed hair Zn concentrations (21,56).…”

Comparative absorption of zinc picolinate, zinc citrate and zinc gluconate in humans

“…Bergman et al [36] showed that hair zinc reflects past nutrition and dietary zinc intake. In our study, hair zinc levels changed over a four week period in the same manner as red blood cell content and urinary zinc excretion.…”

Results of a study to detect the effects on neonates of copper and zinc deficiency during pregnancy

“…DISCUSSION For many years the attention of researchers has been attracted by the teratogenic affects of maternal trace element deficiencies in animals (Hurley, 1976(Hurley, , 1981a(Hurley, , 1981bShaw, 1980). The more dramatic effects are obtained with zinc, copper and maganese; deficiencies In contrast there is little documentation on the effects of such deficiencies during human pregnancy, but many studies (Hambridge et at., 1975;Bergman et al, 1980;Cavdar et al, 1980;Sever and Emanuel, 1973;Jameson, 1976) seemed to point to a link between zinc deficiencies and neural malformation. In our study we found that the only two severely malformed newborns presented an abnormal trace-element status.…”